PFS Murder on the silken caravan (Inactive)

Game Master Merisal The Risen

Tholand I have moved you up to block the approach to Lulwa if I have misinterpreted your actions now would be a good time to say

Lulwa step back and blasts her foe the blast hits but he is made of sterner stuff with a howl of rage he looks to steps after her.
Faeran casts bless but Tholand tries to acrobatically move to intercept Lulwa's foe

Goblins try to make the most of the opportunity

But are goblins

The blue with his little helper swings at Tholand

The other goblins find the camels tough going and two are kicked away. Sadly the southern drover is hit by more scimitars and falls

Elado
Yellows
Lulwa(-7)
Tholand(-17)
Faeran
Deyno
Blue leader(-10)
Blues
Oranges

sorry for my tardiness. traveling for work. Five-foot step to the middle of the happy circle. send a ray of frost on target marked E. (is this marking of enemies acceptable?)

Elado retreats into protection and looses a ray.

ray of frost: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 131d3 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
If successful, the enemy cannot take a 5-foot step and has movement reduced by 5ft.

marking perfectly acceptable especially when I don't do a great job of distinguishing between mooks . Most marks have disappeared quickly as marks have been one shotted. Sadly not the case this time

Elado's target dodges behind the camel. The clump of small foes behind you decide to vanish as their leader has fallen

Bold are up

Elado
Lulwa(-7)
Tholand(-17)
Faeran
Deyno
Blue leader(-10)
Blues
Oranges

Lulu boldly moves next to Deyno. "Scrape me off the sand if I'm dead," she says to the bloodrager. Another clump of sand zips into a whorl of half-seen aether swirling in front of her hand, and then flies toward the orange leader.

Kinetic Blast, PBS: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
for: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

"Ah, Hells," she grumbles.

Stabbed and bloody, Tholand's usual calm demeanor is beginning to get tested.
Thars so many of these bloody basterds! Long as thar's a breath in a Warmane, the battle's not over.
Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 1 = 131d6 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Wow I've rolled three 5's in a row...this is really getting aggravating...

Faeran moves up behind Tholand and taps him with his happy stick.

clw Tholand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Deyno approaches the bigger Orange mook and swings with his claws.

attack #1: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
damage: 1d6 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

attack #2: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
damage: 1d6 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

The wind picks up afresh and a blast of sand puts her off her aim. Tholand continues to find fighting on sand not stone an offputting experience although Faerans healing is most welcome. Deyno catches his for hard but he twists successfully to avoid Deynos second claw. The bigger ones shout out to their smaller kind and they respond by swarming round Deyno and Tholand. Freed from the press of little critters the camels decide to flee the combat. The remaining drover gets dragged by his although Hokama and Atmar have better luck keeping the other two in some control

Deyno gets to swipe at one of the orange ones as eagerly tries to circle behind him

Deyno aoo: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

But he aims for a head high helmet not a goblin high

party is up

Elado
Lulwa(-7)
Tholand(-18)
Faeran
Deyno (-6)
Blue leader(-10)
Blues
orange Leader(-12)
Oranges

To prevent a camel running off is a DC20 Charisma or handle animal check as a standard action

Faeran fires another shot at the northernmost small blue goblin, hoping to get tholand out of flank.

to hit: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
dmg if hits: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

He curses softly as his arrow misses.

Lulu takes another shot at the orange leader. Sand wrapped in aether zips away from her hand.

PBS, Blast: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
for: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

OH COME ON DICE GODS

Elado has his head on a swivel and backs into safe territory amidst the veritable tornado of violence and sand.

5 ft step to the north east. Snowball on the big blue goon by Tholand. On my mobile so I can't move my E marker. DC 15 fort: stagger on hit.

snowball in melee: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 21d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Feeling Frustrated, Tholand lashes out against theBig Blue, with a forearm strike. Cestus: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 271d4 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 = 301d4 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Tholand does a spinning back fist using the studs from his Cestus to take across the throat of the hobgoblin.

Tholands tormentor begins to give him the goblin verbals which only increase at the poor efforts from Lulwa, Faeran and Elado. However as Tholand catches the hobgoblin with a forearm strike so good the rip of the Cestus pulling back sends his head flying through the air which is marked by a brief stunned silence swiftly followed by a goblin jabbering of "Pakka Pwah! Pakka Pwah!" which evidently means I'm outta here as the blue goblins turn tail and run. Provoking an aoo for Tholand

Deyno (-6)
Oranges
Orange Leader(-12)
Tholand (-18)
Lulwa (-7)
Faeran
Elado

Faeran raises his bow over his head and issues a whoop of delight at Tholand's routing of the blue goblins. "Well done, Tholand! let's go get the other batch now!"

AOO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 91d6 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Tholand tries to take a sucker punch on the goblin, but is too slow from the blood loss.

Smirking a the situation. Deyno focuses his attention on the biggest one of the group.

attack #1: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
damage: 1d6 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

attack #2: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
damage: 1d6 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Deyno Takes out the bigger foe and sideswipes one of the littler ones for good measure The remaining goblins turn tail and flee.

You soon get all the remaining camels under control but sadly there is nothing you can do to save the two drovers who were part of Hokama's
crew. The sandstorm picks up again and you realise you are hopelessly out of touch with the rest of the caravan And most of the camels are backing into the wind so their heads escape the worst of the storm. Hunkering down and hoping this passses quickly is your best bet

You take damage getting into hunkered down position: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Make a survival check dc 15 to half that damage

survival dc 15: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Faeran follows the sage 'advice' of the camels and hunkers down, using one of the larger beasts for cover from the wind and sand.

Tholand moves his hair in front of his eyes to keep them from being sttuck during the storm.
Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Prepare yourselves lads, keep yar chin tucked and look down!
Tholand tries to share some advice to the others.

survival: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Elado is buffeted by the wind and sand but makes his way over by Faeran.

survival: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Deyno gets close to one of the beast to gain some cover from the sand. He slams his eyes shut and covers he face with his arms to keep most of the sand out.

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 2

"@$%@#$%#$@^!" says Lulu in Kelish, as she eats a mouthful of sand.

HP at 4/13; she's not doing great.

"Anyone have an Aroden-blasted healing wand here?" she says, hacking and coughing.

"Don't stress, Lulu... I can help..." Faeran leaves the lee of the camel he'd taken shelter behind and crawls over to Lulu, trying to stay low and out of the sand-blasting wind. He casts cure light on Lulu, using his own spell rather than the wand.

clw: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

"That should tide you over til this storm is done... Let me know if you need anything else. Mind if I just shelter here for the rest of the storm?" he asks, hunkering down where he is rather than trying to crawl back where he was.

The storm tapers off very quickly and you are able to gather yourselves and the camels. The good news is the drover that was dragged by his camel survived. The bad news is the camel that was dragging him has broken its leg and is now dead. You discover that while you successfully followed Hokama’s camels, the water merchant actually lost sight of the rest of the caravan, and they have now gone astray with no sign of the caravan in sight and with no real idea of where the Silken Way lies in this changed landscape of windblown dunes.

The best you and Hokama can do is make their best guess at the trade route’s northwestern course and attempt to run across their compatriots. (there is the highly sensible option of turning tail and returning to Lopal but that would be the end of the adventure)

"Well this is a good sign as far as our direction is concerned, but not a good sign for the caravan."

Aye, whoever did this wasn't worried 'bout leavin' a trail.
Tholand whipes his brow again and takes his hand off his gut exposing some nasty wounds.
Oi! Faeran, would ye mind usin' this on me?
Tholand hands off a wand...

"Of course, happy to"

clw tholand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

clw tholand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

clw tholand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

that should get you to full

I'm not one for knives, but someone should take that. Do we think we can approximate a path to take?

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 2

Lulu is baffled at the direction of the caravan. "Can't tell a damn thing. Can anyone tell if this fellow was stabbed to death, or after death, or after drugging, or anything?"

She amuses herself with making a tiny whirlwind in her hand, then grumbles. "If someone can find the caravan, I'll follow. Until then, I'm useless except for juggling without using my hands or feet."

Tholand will walk over to the body and take the knife out and put it in his sack. Might need this for evidence. He then peers around for the caravan trail.Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Oi, lads the trail be this way!
While heading out Tholand will keep an eye out for whoever killed Mahmoud.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Elado breathes a sigh of relief and follows Tholand.

heal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Faeran examines the body, but shakes his head. "Sorry, I'm not good with forensics... "

Lulu trots after Tholand. "If he was killed during that storm, or that goblin attack, his murderer could blame it on anyone. Including us. Don't produce that knife immediately until you find out more."

Aye, if there be one thing I can't stand, it's a liar. Tholand seems sincere in his hatred for liars.

Following their northwesterly heading, You reach the Zho Mountains. The drover Salif recognises a nearby peak that he knows is close to where the river Shat-al-Qadr rises before it flows through the Qadiran hinterlands all the way to Katheer itself. The Silken Way is known to pass through the Zho Mountains somewhere near the river, and that connects to the Silken Way on the opposite side of the mountains.

The canyon you follow through the mountains opens onto a wider vale, and should connect to the main route of the Silken Way not many miles ahead. However, your attention is arrested by a breathtaking sight: one wall of the mountain valley is occupied by a massive monument. A natural prominence in the red- and brown-veined strata of the rock walls ahead has been sculpted on a grand scale into a gargantuan idol depicting a man seated in the lotus position with a tall, pointed crown on his head. Though the years have worn the features of this sculpture into a nearly smooth finish with cave openings where mouth and eyes should be, there are enough details of face and clothing remaining to recognise the distinctive Eastern features and garb that the statue once bore. An eerie, forlorn song floats on the breeze that brings to mind a sense of bonegnawing loneliness.

Lulwa, Hokama, Slif And Atmar all spur their camels on towards the monument. At the moment you cannot see the singer

Round 1

Tholand
Elado
Deyno
Faeran
Lulwa (enthralled)

You are 200 feet from the base of the shrine which is to the east of your position on the third slide. The fourth slide is a picture of the shrine and the squares are apparently 10 feet tall so it is a most impressive structure. Camels will be double moving at 100 feet around and all seem enthralled as well

So my camel closes the distance by 100ft on my turn?

Unless you guys come up with a creative solution in 2 rounds all the camels will be at the foot of the shrine. They are roughly keeping pace with one another

Faeran casts bless on the party, for whatever might be coming their way.

Elado keeps pace with the group, enjoying the music.

Deyno cast shocking grasp and holds the spell as his mount moves close to the shrine.

Concentration Check, DC 11 or 16, violent being the higher of the two: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

GM would you count a mount double moving as vigorous or violent motion for the Concentration Check. Looks like if you rule it as vigorous I am ok, if it is violent, then I lose the spell.

I don't have enthralled creature moving vigorously more steadily than anything else you are fine Deyno. I will give Tholand a little longer to post but will start the combat proper tomorrow. Also to clarify the singing is coming from the mouth of the head of the statue/ gargantuan carving not the hole at the base

Not entirely sure what's going on, Tholand does nothing but keep an eye out as they get closer.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Lulu kicks at the sides of her camel, her green eyes flashing with ecstatic interest in the unseen singer.

The song continues to emanate from the mouth of the statue as two winged creatures emerge from the mouth and swoop towards you. They veer apart before starting to converge on your position. They look a strange mixture of women and vultures but are of human size.

Ok here is my first take on what you can see. This is the second round of the combat so the camels are still 100 feet from the base of the statue but still moving towards it with their heads raised trying to get closer to the song. Those who failed their will saves among the riders are also lifting their heads towards the mouth of the statue. Note the squares on the map are 10 feet . Deyno had it right with vigorous motion as they are double moving which applies a -4 penalty on archery checks(see mounted archery feat). Dismounting requires a move action, if you can make a dc 20 ride check you keep your move action once dismounted.

Concentration check for Faeran Bless Spell concentration: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Passed

(My initial plan was to have the enemies appear on the third round but I see no reason to delay them till then)

Initiative
Round 2
Bless active

Tholand
Elado
Deyno (holding shocking grasp)
Faeran
Lulwa (enthralled)
Vulture women

Deyno's camel closes in close to the base and Deyno climbs off the camel carefully, making sure not to touch the camel with the electicity surrounding his one hand.

Come down you foul creatures, and release whatever enchantment you have on our beast and brethren.

readied action if they come adjacent with hostile intent

Elado arrives at the base of the statue and dismounts with the others. Face the terror of the White Dragon!

Elado readies a Ray of Frost if they close within 30ft
Ray: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 131d3 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Faeran dismounts and shoots at one of the vulture women.

to hit: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 4 + 1 = 18
dmg if hits: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

The camels all arrive at the bottom of the cliff where most of the party dismount. Faeran shoots an arrow at one the creatures. It hits and it first screams and then turns the scream into a song "Do you really want to hurt me"as it flies up to the cave

Deyno Will save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Elado Will save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Tholand Will save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Lulwa Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Faeran Will save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

The second swoops down towards the slave boy and is hit by Elados frost ray. Another anguished scream emerges but she decides to try and grab the boy just evading Deynos attack as she does so

grab attempt: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

She grabs the boy but finds him more heavy than she imagined and she struggles to get back into the air away from those on the ground.
The boy in turn getting no closer to the singing tries to wriggle free
escape artist check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
but just fails

The camels attempt to climb the cliff and fail. Their riders however have no such problems and not feeling threatened at all take 10 on their climb checks and make it about 15 feet up including Tholand

Initative
bold to act

Faeran
Elado
Deyno
Singer (out of sight)
Girl George (-4)(still in sight)
Boy grabber (-6)(still at ground level)
Lulwa Tholand and the other climbers (enthralled)

Map 3 is ground level with the camels at the foot of the statue with the climbers to the right. Map 4 gives the respective elevations The boy is in the square below the harpy that has grabbed him who is 5 feet off the ground

Deyno moves around the boy and attempts to strike the creature at ground level.

attack vs touch: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
electricity damage: 5d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 5, 5, 5) = 25 Nice